


The City of Lost Voices

by Heals



Category: Original Work
Genre: Multi, Other, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 12:57:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20426360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heals/pseuds/Heals





	1. Autumn

**_#1_**  
It was an a early autumn morning the first rays of sunlight dancing over the roofs of Old Town district. The air, not yet close enough to winter but still chill enough to be uncomfortable without a coat, was heavy with thin wisps of fog; drifting through the narrow streets like bad memories from days long past. Houses tightly packed next to each other; build centuries ago and grown organically as more and more houses grew up and around them. A reminder of how it all began; a legacy nestled inside the semi-modern area metropolis that was The City.

It was market day and merchants were already busy setting up stalls along the sides of Main Street. An observant viewer could make out swarms of Nageleers, small rodents with vicious teeth and short grey brownish coats, fishing in the sewers here and there for anything edible. Thankfully these critters feared anything larger than themselves and were thus practically harmless; if at times a pain to keep in check. Old Town was a weird curiosity living deep inside the beating heart of The City a memory of how simple life used to be conserved in wood and stone.

Startled from the alarm a slim, trained arm swung in the direction of the noises attempting to silence the bloody thing. And and missed. Giving in to a combination of inertia, drowsiness from sleep and a margin of bad luck Sion rolled over, out of bed and painfully thumped onto the wooden bedroom floor. A tangled bundle of blankets, cushion and pajamas; all in all the perfect start into the day.

Living in one of the houses in Old Town district wasn't a common thing. The houses were either owned and kept in families, handed from generation to generation; or too expensive to afford for most people.

_"Oi! Move it! Breakfast!"_ the rough voice resonating through the house belonged Barron; assigned by the City Councils Orphan Care Devision to look after a scared child that, thanks to a terrible car crash, lost all family and most memories except for it's own name. "A guardian" as the Council called him; a most debatable title in Sion's view.

Clawing a way out of the blankets to catch a glimpse at the calendar; only to confirm what needed no further confirmation. It was the last day, the day before turning 18. The day before freedom, choice, life. It all waited out there.

_"Have 'ya gone deaf up there!?"_ Barrow bellowed from downstairs.

_"No! No, I'm awake! Coming!"_

Sion hesitantly entered the kitchen and took a seat opposite to Barrow who was busy reading the morning news. He was a tall, heavy build man with short cropped hair that used to be raven black in Sions first memories of him but was now interwoven with silver strands; a beard that was in dire need for a clean shave and a face the spoke of his almost 60 summers.

_"You're late. Always late... I should see about putting some discipline in that stubborn head of your's. But I've been trying to do that for longer than I can recall now."_

_"I was about to come downstairs when you shouted."_

_"Yeah, of course you were."_ He put his newspaper down for a moment.

_"I don't need to remind you that we're almost out of food again, do I?"_

Sion gave him an acknowledging nod.

_"Good; and while you're out remember to bring me another bottle from the distillery."_

Another nod, more hesitant this time.

The only thing that could make Barrow even worse was alcohol. He never was a man of restraint to begin with but it started to get worse a few years back around the time that he lost hist job. Ever since then money had been supplied by a state owned retirement fund which covered for both of them but didn't really allow for a lot of liberal spending on other things.

Breakfast was simple, plain bread, a few scraps of left over sausage and some cheese washed down with luke warm water. Barrow had no sense for fancy or complicated food. It had been months since the breakfast table had seen eggs or ham and back then only because it was Sion who bought and prepared them.

They finished breakfast in silence.


	2. The Planet

**_#2_**  
Life on The Planet took roughly 10 billion years to evolve into it's present form. Driven by the rough environment nature came up shortcuts and workarounds to keep species fit for survival. Most of these traits were lost or devolved beyond any practical usability, others kept dominant and survived the centuries; one of them being a strange gender-duality present in most larger mamals. As a result of this all children were initially born without a distinct biological gender, growing up mostly androgynous until they reached their 16th summer. After this coming of age their physiology allowed for a choice - male or female - to be consciously taken; A trigger signal causing the body to undergo a rapid puberty stage and develop to a final singular gender with the ability to procreate and keep the species alive. 

From the early stages of civilization this quirk was exploited to cope with whatever troubles nature or, in more then a few cases, civilization itself threw up. There was no "weak gender", no lack of strong workers or fear of edging on the brink of extinction. All it took was enough people that had yet to make take their choice so society could be kept alive and ticking.  
With the advent of larger settlements, trade and politics a new system begin to emerge. The Castes, singular groups of citizens catering to a specific need of the population. Most castes had a very stickt bond to one gender or the other; there were no female construction workers just as there were no male caretakers for the children or the elderly who couldn't tend to themselves on their own anymore. This constellation kept society thriving and induced a steep paced path to bigger and bigger cities and more and more advanced technologies culminating in the creation of The City.

The City, nestled in a fertile valley, enclosed to one side by a thick forrest and by endless fields on the other; located in the mediterranean region on the bigger of the major two continents. Itself being one of the largest and oldest settlements in existence and considered the capital of modern society. Little knowledge about it's origins or creators still prevailed as the constant need for expansion as well as social and cultural development kept reshaping it's face over the millennia. To some it was a sacred place, full of hidden secrets and places of power. To some it was the pinnacle of what men could achieve in this day and age. For most of it's citizens though it was the only place they would ever see in their entire lifetime.  
While Old Town District only spanned a few square kilometers and could be comfortably crossed on foot even before it was time for lunch to be served the remainder of The City expanded far beyond it's humble origins spanning almost 100 kilometers tip-to-toe in it's widest reaches. Keeping a living, breathing apparatus of this size working and in check was a paramount task; upheld by The City Council and it's myriad of sub-councils and committees.   
These in turn build on on the old system of The Castes but modified it to suit the need of governing it's people. One of the major changes instigated by this was that castes were no longer freely chosen but assigned to every young citizen upon reaching the eve of their 18th summer.


End file.
